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Division One: “Malthus Gets Fat” (Two Chapters) Chapter One develops a simple dynamic model to examine the takeoff from a Malthusian economy to a modern growth regime. It finds that several factors, most notably the rate of technological progress and the economic structure, determine the fastest rate at which the population can grow without declining living standards; this is termed maximum sustainable population growth. It is only when this maximum sustainable rate exceeds the peak rate at which a society expands that takeoff can occur. I also investigate the effects of trade and international income transfers on the ability to sustain takeoff. It is also shown that present income growth is not necessarily indicative of the ability to sustain takeoff and that factors which increase current income growth may actually inhibit takeoff, and vice versa. Chapter Two applies the sustainable population growth framework to Britain during the Industrial Revolution. The model shows a dramatic increase in sustainable population growth at the time of the Industrial Revolution, well before the beginning of modern levels of income growth. The main contributions to the British breakout were technological improvements and structural change away from agricultural production. At least until the middle of the 19th Century, coal, capital and trade played a minor role. Division Two: “Leverage and Financial Market Instability” (Four Chapters) Chapter One develops a model of how leverage induces explosive behavior in financial markets. I show that when levered investors become too large relative to the market as a whole, the demand curve for securities can suddenly become upward-sloping as levered investors are exposed to forced liquidations. The size and leverage of all levered investors defines the minimum elasticity-adjusted market size for stability or MinEAMASS, which is the smallest elasticity-adjusted market size that can support the group of levered investors analyzed. This gives rise to a measure of instability that can predict when markets become vulnerable to a leverage-driven market liquidity crisis. Chapter Two iterates the model of Chapter One forward in time to generate an inflating bubble that suddenly bursts, reproducing many of Kindleberger's (1996) stylized facts about the dynamics of bubbles in a simple framework. Chapter Three applies my measure of instability in a historical investigation of the 1998 demise of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). I find that a forced liquidation of LTCM threatened to destabilize some financial markets, particularly for bank funding and equity volatility. Chapter Four discusses how the model applied to the stock market crash of 1929. There the evidence suggests that a tightening of margin requirements in the first nine months of 1929 combined with price declines in September and early October caused enough investors to become constrained that the market was tipped into instability, triggering the sudden crash of October and November.

Syfte: Den 9:e september föregående år uppdagade Sveriges Television att den socialdemokratiska regeringen har lagt fram en proposition till Riksdagen gällande kvotering i börsbolagsstyrelser. I propositionen föreslås att svenska börsbolagsstyrelser ska bestå av minst 40 procent kvinnor. • Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om det finns ett statistiskt samband mellan andelen kvinnor i svenska börsbolagsstyrelser och kapitalstrukturen, samt om det finns ett statistiskt samband mellan kapitalstrukturen och om bolagets VD är kvinna. Metod: En kvantitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats har tillämpats. Data har samlats in från svenska börsbolags årsredovisningar från bokslutsåret 2015. Datan har använts för att bygga upp relevanta variabler som sedan har testats i en multivariat regressionsanalys. Resultat & slutsats: På frågan om kvinnor påverkar kapitalstrukturen vill vi mena att resultatet av denna studie tyder på att svaret är nej. Resultatet ger belägg för att det inte finns något samband mellan andelen kvinnor i styrelsen och kapitalstrukturen men att det råder ett mycket svagt positivt samband mellan en kvinnlig VD och kapitalstrukturen. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Den främsta begränsningen för denna undersökning är att hänsyn endast har tagits till ett bokslutsår, till skillnad från många tidigare vetenskapliga studier som har baserat undersökningarna på flera bokslutsår. Förslag till vidare forskning är således att genomföra denna undersökning över flera bokslutsår för att ta hänsyn till eventuella mönster i finansieringsbeslut. Den kvantitativa metoden bidrar med data som kan användas för att påvisa ett statistiskt samband. Ett annat förslag till fortsatt forskning är att genomföra samma studie fast tillämpa en kvalitativ metod för att analysera skillnader i finansieringsbeslut av män och kvinnor som verkställande direktörer och styrelsemedlemmar. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna undersökning har bidragit med teoretisk kunskap om faktorer som påverkar kapitalstrukturen samt med praktisk kunskap om hur en eventuell kvoteringslag kan komma att påverka kapitalstrukturen. / Title: Does women in the boardroom affect the capital structure? – An analysis if there is a correlation between the proportion of women in the boardroom and the capital structure and between a female CEO and the capital structure. Aim: On September 9 last year, Sveriges Television revealed that the socialistic government has presented a proposition to the parliament concerning quotas in listed companies’ boards. The proposition proposes that boards in Swedish listed firms’ should consist of at least 40 percent women. • The purpose of this study is to investigate if there is a statistical correlation between the proportion of women on the boards of Swedish listed companies and the capital structure, and if there is a statistical correlation between the capital structure and if the company’s CEO is a woman. Method: A quantitative method with a deductive approach has been applied. Data has been collected from the Swedish listed companies’ annual financial reports from the year 2015. The data has been used to build up relevant variables, which has then been tested in a multivariate regression analysis. Result & Conclusions: On the question if women affect the capital structure, we would like to think that the result of this study indicates the answer is no. The result provides evidence that there is no statistical correlation between the proportion of women on the board and the capital structure but that there is a marginal positive correlation between a female CEO and the capital structure. Suggestions for future research: The main limitation for this study is that consideration has only been given to one fiscal year, unlike many previous studies that have based the surveys on several fiscal years. Suggestion for further research is to implement this study on several fiscal years to account for any potential patterns in the financing decisions. The quantitative method contributes with data that can be used to detect a statistical relationship. Another suggestion for further research is to accomplish the same study, but apply a qualitative method to analyze the differences in financing decisions by men and women as CEOs and board members. Contribution of the thesis: This study has provided theoretical knowledge of factors affecting the capital structure as well as practical knowledge about how a possible quota law may affect the capital structure.

SM-veckan is a Swedish sports event that gathers minor sports to host their national championships during the same week at the same place. In focus during this study was six Swedish sports clubs in three different sports who were hosts of their respective sports national championship at the event SM-veckan in Sundsvall during the summer of 2015. The aim with this study was to add knowledge about how a sports event impact the hosting sports clubs by investigating the legacy SM-veckan left for the hosting clubs. Qualitative data was gathered through interviews with the six hosting sports clubs, a project leader and a competition leader for one of the sports. The sports clubs got to answer questions about how they were impacted by the event, but also about their goals and expectations of hosting the event. The results show that the sports clubs had very few goals and very low expectations to get something out of hosting the event. The clubs had experienced a small economic impact but did also believe that they had made a statement proving themselves as good hosts. In general the result showed that the event have had very little impact on the hosting sports clubs. One of the clubs had a clear objective to achieve a timing equipment through the event which they also managed to do. This study’s conclusion is that hosts must set up clear goals for why they host an event to be able to leverage and get something out of the event

Presented to the School of Accountancy University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg This research report is submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation) Date: 31 March 2016 / This research focuses on large corporate transactions and acknowledges that they play a significant role in the allocation of resources in society. For this reason (1) the composition of firms’ capital structure and (2) how they choose to fund their investments are important. The South African income tax system has a bias towards debt and this bias (1) distorts the financing and investment decisions of firms; and (2) creates international tax arbitrage opportunities. These circumstances are not exclusive to South Africa. In order to address these distortions and loopholes the National Treasury and the SARS Commissioner have introduced complicated interest deduction limitations. This research critically analyses (1) the new adjusted tax rules concerning interest deduction limitations in finance transactions and (2) whether these new rules encourage investment. To assist with this critical analysis we use corporate finance theory to examine debt push-down transactions/structures because these structures are seen as highly tax-efficient for investors (both foreign and local). This research demonstrates that there are many different ways to finance a transaction but ultimately the choice of finance lies along the continuum between the issue of debt or equity. From an economic perspective this research confirms that there is no material reason for the disparate treatment between debt and equity. However from a legal perspective debt and equity instruments are materially distinct and thus tax considerations are influential in selecting the form of finance used in a transaction. This research not only concludes that leverage transactions utilising excessive debt pose a risk to tax revenues, tax sovereignty and tax fairness but also that the artificial statutory treatment of interest deductions on leverage transactions and working capital facilities means that (1) firms’ ability to finance their operations is reduced, (2) the value of firms is reduced and (3) the incentive for investors to invest in South Africa is also reduced. / MT2017

Esta tese é composta por três ensaios que analisam a estrutura ótima de capital em setores de infraestrutura regulados. O primeiro ensaio, uma revisão da literatura, sistematiza diversos artigos que tratam de possíveis efeitos decorrentes de um ambiente economicamente regulado sobre a definição da estrutura ótima de capital. Estes artigos indicam que a relação estratégica existente entre entes reguladores e firmas reguladas afeta a decisão destas com relação à sua estrutura ótima de capital. O segundo ensaio tem por objetivo analisar esta questão de forma empírica, pela ótica dos entes reguladores. Para isso, primeiramente se levanta os procedimentos usualmente praticados pelas agências reguladoras nacionais na definição regulatória da estrutura ótima de capital, buscando-se avaliar se as mesmas atentam aos efeitos esperados do ambiente regulado sobre as decisões das firmas com relação às suas estruturas ótimas. Este levantamento demonstra que, até o momento, esta não tem sido uma preocupação dos órgãos reguladores nacionais. Ainda neste segundo ensaio, realiza-se, a partir de informações econômico-financeiras de firmas reguladas e não reguladas, uma análise em painel para verificar se o ambiente regulado, conforme indica a literatura, realmente afeta a estrutura ótima das firmas reguladas. Finalmente, o terceiro ensaio, também empírico, analisa a composição do endividamento das firmas reguladas e realiza duas verificações: (a) se as variáveis explicativas que a literatura indica como determinantes para a definição da quantidade de dívida apresentam intensidades diferentes por tipo de fonte (financiamentos bancários tradicionais ou debêntures); e (b) se, para cada tipo de fonte, os determinantes apresentam intensidades diferentes entre empresas reguladas e não reguladas. / This thesis consists of three essays on the optimal capital structure in infrastructure sectors that are subjected to economic regulation. The first essay, a literature review, organizes different articles that analyze the effects of an economically regulated environment over the optimal capital structure. These articles demonstrate that the existent strategic relation between regulators and regulated firms affects the firms\' decision in regard to its optimal capital structure. The second essay aims to an empirical test, from the point of view of regulators. First, the usual procedures adopted by the Brazilian regulators for measuring the optimal capital structure are systematized, showing that the potential effects of the regulated environment over the optimal capital structure have not so far been addressed by them. After that, a quantitative analysis is carried out, seeking to measure if a regulated environment really affects the optimal capital structure - the database consists of Brazilian regulated and unregulated firms, using a panel approach. Finally, the third essay, also empirical, breaks down the debt (long term loans and bonds) of firms and performs two analyses: (i) do different kinds of debt have different determinants?; and (ii) for each kind of debt, are there different determinants between regulated and unregulated firms?

Nas últimas décadas, diversos estimadores de estado foram desenvolvidos e aplicados em sistemas elétricos de potência (SEP), dos quais se destaca o baseado no método da mínima mediana. Isso em razão desse, conhecido como estimador por mínima mediana do resíduo ponderado ao quadrado (do inglês, Weighted Least Median of Squares - WLMS), ser capaz de filtrar erros grosseiros (EGs) existentes em medidas redundantes que atraem a convergência do processo de estimação de estado. Essas medidas são chamadas de ponto de alavancamento. Todavia, o estimador WLMS requer um alto custo computacional, tornando-se inviável para aplicação, em tempo real, em SEP de grande porte. De uma forma geral, os motivos desse custo computacional são devido ao estimador WLMS exigir a realização das seguintes tarefas: (i) sorteio, dentre todas as medidas disponíveis, de diversos conjuntos observáveis de medidas com número de medidas igual ao número de variáveis de estado a serem estimadas; (ii) análise da redundância local das medidas disponíveis para cada um dos conjuntos observáveis sorteados; e (iii) execução de vários fluxos de carga. Neste trabalho, propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um estimador de estado estatisticamente robusto, baseado no método da mínima mediana, porém, viável para aplicação em tempo real em SEP de grande porte. Para isso, foram propostas novas metodologias para realização das tarefas supracitadas. A metodologia proposta para realização das tarefas (i) e (ii) faz uso da estrutura da matriz H\'delta\', pois, através dessa matriz, as análises de observabilidade e de redundância de medidas são realizadas de forma simples e direta. Para realizar a tarefa (ii), desenvolveu-se uma metodologia para cálculo de fluxo de carga, tomando por base um método de varredura direta/inversa. Por fim, para aumentar a eficiência computacional em tempo real do estimador proposto, as tarefas a serem executadas pelo mesmo que não dependem de informações, que se tornam disponíveis em tempo real, são realizadas num processo off-line. Como principais resultados deste trabalho, destacam-se: (i) um estimador de estado robusto; e (ii) uma metodologia eficiente para determinação da mínima redundância local de medidas e para sortear os conjuntos observáveis de medidas. / In the last decades several state estimators were developed and applied to power systems. Among these estimators, the one based on the least median method is of interest to us. This because the weighted least median of squares (WLMS) estimator is capable of filtering gross errors corrupting redundant measurements called leverage points. Leverage points are highly influential measurements that attract the state estimations solution towards them. However, some of the WLMS estimator tasks require excessive computing time, making that estimator impracticable to large-scale power systems in real-time environment. The WLMS estimator tasks requiring excessive computing time are: (i) selection, among all available measurements, of several samples with N non-redundant measurements for which the system is observable, where N is the number of system states to be estimated; (ii) determination of the minimum redundancy of the available measurements set; and (iii) the solution of several load flows (one for each selected samples of N measurements). This work proposes a robust state estimator based on the least median method applicable to large-scale power systems in real-time environment. In order to do this, new methodologies were proposed to perform the tasks mentioned above. The proposed methodology to perform tasks (i) and (ii) is based on the analysis of the H\'delta\' matrix structure (this analysis enables both observability and redundancy analysis in a straightforward manner). To perform task (ii), it was developed a load flow methodology based on a forward/backward sweep power flow method. Finally, in order to increase the computational efficiency of the proposed estimator in real-time environment, the tasks that do not depend on real-time information will be conducted by an off-line process. As the main results of this work we could enumerate: (i) a robust state estimator; and (ii) an efficient methodology to determine both the minimum redundancy of the available measurement set and the observable samples with N non-redundant measurements.

This thesis presents market stock trading focused on analysis of financial crisis which falls on world's biggest exchange stocks and strategy of trading for a small investor. In the first part of this thesis will be explained priciples of trading on stock markets with modern trading business platformes. I explain economic conections and economy cycles which influence development of financial markets. In second part of thesis I analyse financial crisis fall on stock markets, indexis, commodities (gold, silver, brend crude oil) and currency markets (forex). I appreciate situation in Czech republik and course of czech index PX. Important role has a fundamental and technical analysis. I will analyse and descript modern trends of this business.

Nas últimas décadas, diversos estimadores de estado foram desenvolvidos e aplicados em sistemas elétricos de potência (SEP), dos quais se destaca o baseado no método da mínima mediana. Isso em razão desse, conhecido como estimador por mínima mediana do resíduo ponderado ao quadrado (do inglês, Weighted Least Median of Squares - WLMS), ser capaz de filtrar erros grosseiros (EGs) existentes em medidas redundantes que atraem a convergência do processo de estimação de estado. Essas medidas são chamadas de ponto de alavancamento. Todavia, o estimador WLMS requer um alto custo computacional, tornando-se inviável para aplicação, em tempo real, em SEP de grande porte. De uma forma geral, os motivos desse custo computacional são devido ao estimador WLMS exigir a realização das seguintes tarefas: (i) sorteio, dentre todas as medidas disponíveis, de diversos conjuntos observáveis de medidas com número de medidas igual ao número de variáveis de estado a serem estimadas; (ii) análise da redundância local das medidas disponíveis para cada um dos conjuntos observáveis sorteados; e (iii) execução de vários fluxos de carga. Neste trabalho, propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um estimador de estado estatisticamente robusto, baseado no método da mínima mediana, porém, viável para aplicação em tempo real em SEP de grande porte. Para isso, foram propostas novas metodologias para realização das tarefas supracitadas. A metodologia proposta para realização das tarefas (i) e (ii) faz uso da estrutura da matriz H\'delta\', pois, através dessa matriz, as análises de observabilidade e de redundância de medidas são realizadas de forma simples e direta. Para realizar a tarefa (ii), desenvolveu-se uma metodologia para cálculo de fluxo de carga, tomando por base um método de varredura direta/inversa. Por fim, para aumentar a eficiência computacional em tempo real do estimador proposto, as tarefas a serem executadas pelo mesmo que não dependem de informações, que se tornam disponíveis em tempo real, são realizadas num processo off-line. Como principais resultados deste trabalho, destacam-se: (i) um estimador de estado robusto; e (ii) uma metodologia eficiente para determinação da mínima redundância local de medidas e para sortear os conjuntos observáveis de medidas. / In the last decades several state estimators were developed and applied to power systems. Among these estimators, the one based on the least median method is of interest to us. This because the weighted least median of squares (WLMS) estimator is capable of filtering gross errors corrupting redundant measurements called leverage points. Leverage points are highly influential measurements that attract the state estimations solution towards them. However, some of the WLMS estimator tasks require excessive computing time, making that estimator impracticable to large-scale power systems in real-time environment. The WLMS estimator tasks requiring excessive computing time are: (i) selection, among all available measurements, of several samples with N non-redundant measurements for which the system is observable, where N is the number of system states to be estimated; (ii) determination of the minimum redundancy of the available measurements set; and (iii) the solution of several load flows (one for each selected samples of N measurements). This work proposes a robust state estimator based on the least median method applicable to large-scale power systems in real-time environment. In order to do this, new methodologies were proposed to perform the tasks mentioned above. The proposed methodology to perform tasks (i) and (ii) is based on the analysis of the H\'delta\' matrix structure (this analysis enables both observability and redundancy analysis in a straightforward manner). To perform task (ii), it was developed a load flow methodology based on a forward/backward sweep power flow method. Finally, in order to increase the computational efficiency of the proposed estimator in real-time environment, the tasks that do not depend on real-time information will be conducted by an off-line process. As the main results of this work we could enumerate: (i) a robust state estimator; and (ii) an efficient methodology to determine both the minimum redundancy of the available measurement set and the observable samples with N non-redundant measurements.

La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à l'étude de la dispersion du pollen de maïs. Le grain de pollen est vu comme une particule soumise à un champ de forces et sa trajectoire est modélisée à l'aide de différents processus de diffusion. Lorsque deux champs sont contigüs (milieu homogène), différentes fonctions de dispersion individuelles paramétriques sont alors obtenues, différentes hypothèses étant faites sur des temps d'atteinte de processus stochastiques. A partir d'expériences, les paramètres sont alors estimés en considérant un modèle de régression non linéaire. Le choix du modèle le mieux adapté se fait à l'aide d'un critère de type Akaïke et de méthodes graphiques. Par ailleurs ces modèles permettent d'effectuer des prédictions. Les résultats sont alors appliqués lorsque deux champs sont séparés par une autre culture (milieu hétérogène), afin d'étudier l'effet d'une discontinuité sur la dispersion. <br />Dans la seconde partie, on s'intéresse à des modèles à volatilité stochastique «mean-reverting», souvent utilisés en économie. Le processus observé est fonction d'une diffusion non observable dont on souhaite estimer les paramètres. Une méthode d'estimation à deux pas basée sur la structure ARMA(1,1) du processus est proposée, en utilisant un estimateur de moments et un contraste de Whittle. Des simulations sont réalisées afin de comparer cette méthode avec d'autres méthodes existantes. Ensuite un paramètre dit «leverage» est ajouté et un modèle discrétisé est étudié. Un critère auxiliaire est proposé pour estimer les paramètres à l'aide d'une méthode d'inférence indirecte. Enfin des simulations sont réalisées pour évaluer leurs performances.